Elevator for hoisting human beings



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

CYRUS W. BLDWIN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELEVATOR FOR HOISTING HUMAN BEINGS, MERCHANDISE, 850.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 99.049, dated January 25, 1870.

To all to whom these presents shall come:

Be it known that I, CYRUs W. BALDWIN, of Boston, in thecounty of Suffolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have made an invention of a new and useful Elevator for Hoisting Human Beings, Merchandise, &c.; and do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, due reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of .this specication,

v and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective representation, and

Figs. 2 and 3 vertical sections, of an elevatorA ture of my present invention is the employment of water wherewith to maintain the equilibrium of the carriage and its load, as the gravitating power of a iiuid may be more easily utilized and changed to correspond -to the varying loads than could be the case with a solid weight or substance;

Various mechanical devices or apparatus may be adopted in carrying out the ideas vof my invention, the fundamental principle -of which, as before stat-ed, is the adoption of water or fluid as an element whereby to effectv the balancing of an elevator-carriage and its adjuncts and load.

I have shown in the accompanying drawings a device for effecting the object sought, as being one practical way of carrying out such object. As a primary and necessary condition of the device, I locate, both in the cellar or basement and in the attic or highest point of a building or structure a cjstern or reservoir, a or b, for containing a given quantity of water, these two tanks being connected by an upright watertight chute or well, c. Within this chute or well c I dispose a movable tank or bucket, d, the internal areaV of this bucket being equal to the external area of the upper cistern, a, which at times it envelops, this intermediate bucket being connected with the upper bar or eross-head, e, of theelevator carriage f by means of two ropes or chains, g g, secured to its opposite sides, such ropes passing from thence upward to and about sheaves h h, mounted upon a cross-shaft, z', revolving in boxes j j, affixed to the upper cross-bars, lo k, of the frame or support A of the elevator, the opposite ends of the ropes descending to and being secured to opposite ends of the cross-l1ead e, as represented.

Both the upper cistern, a., and the bucket d are provided at bottom with an orifice or port, p or q, these ports being covered by clappervalves i' or s, opening upward, while to these valves I attach cords t or u, which I carry upward to and about small sheaves or pulleys c w, disposed closely together at the top of the cistern a and between the sheaves h h before mentioned, these cords, after passing over the sheaves, descending, one to the bottom` of the frame or standard of the elevator, and being loosely secured thereto, and the other passing through the platform of the elevator. carriage, the disposition of these cords with respect to the elevator-carriage being suoli that a person riding upon the carriage may seize them at any time. To effect this arrangement of the cords, it becomesnecessary to pass one of them through the platform of the elevator-carriage.

As the cord u of the bucket d must neces sarily pass upward through the upper cistern, a,the latter is to be provided with a pipe to contain such cord, in order that water shall not escape clandestinely from it. This, how ever, is a detail which would suggest itself to any good mechanic. Y

A large reservoir of water is to be placed on a level with and communicating with the upper cistern, a, in order that a full supply of n ycistern being of the shape and size shown, in

order that the bucket may overlap it.

. equal;

The above-described arrangement of parts embraces one mode of carryin g out the object ot' my-invention, it ybeing presupposed that the elevator-carriage is to be supplied with a suitable hoisting mechanism so applied as to be operated by isolated means, or hy. the exertion of a pers-on who may be upon it, and it being understood. that a considerable quantity of water is at all times allowed to stand in the cisterns a and b.

We will suppose the elevator-carriage to be at its highest'position, or in the upper story of the building in which it may be situated, the bucket d, as a" necessity, being in the water contained in the lower cistern, I), this bucket in its descent, by means of its oriiice q and valve s, being iilled, or nearly so, with water. l I

We have now to. effect the lowering of the elevator-carriage to one or all 'of the succeeding stories or apartments of the building, and to eect this I employ the power of themachinery intendedv to effect it. Should the weight of the water in the lower cistern eX- ceed that of the elevator carriage, lwhich it naturally would, the attendant pulls upon the cord attached to its valve, which allows the descent of the carriage and the ascent of the bucket to begin. Y

As soon as the attendant feels convinced that the Weight of the water within the bucket is sufficient to equalize the weight of the carriage,he releases his hold of the cord and allows the valve within the bucket to close,.when he will at once ascertain rwhether the two are if not, one or two trials, 'which need occupy but afew seconds of time, will render them so. This .equipoise of theA bucket and carriage being secured, the latter` may be loweredvby means of the proper machinery or by manual power of the attendant, should he be either upon th being required; or, by allowing the water to escape from the. bucket until 'the weight is lessthan that ofthe elevator-carriage,thelatter will descend by its own gravity, but still being under the control of the attendant to stop it. .The carriage continues its descent unt-il it reaches its lowest point, when the bucket arrives at and partially envelops the upper cistern, a, by this means driving a portion of the water contained in it into such cistern and the larger reservoir beside it, by this meaus'keeping up a supply thereimlthe quantity of water elevated by this means being directly dependent upon the weight of the carvriage and its load. The carriage is now at its lowest point, and the next movement to be effected is its elevation. Should the weight of the-load to be raised counterbalance that of the load last brought down, the cordv t is to be pulled upon and the valve pr raised, which willjpermit water to flow from the upper cistern, a, to the bucket d until the weight ot' such bucket and its conten'ts'of water are equal to the weight of the carriage audits load, when eca'rriage or upon the base of the elevator-frame, in either casel littlepower the cord is released and the valve closed. As the elevator-carriage and its load thus become balanced by the bucket and its contents, the former maybe elevated with the exertion of very little power, or water in suiticient quantities may be admitted to the bucket to effect, by its own gravity, the elevation ot' the carriage and its load.

4Should the weight be less than that last" scent ot' the carriage, such a quantity of water is allowed to tlow from the upper Acistern to the bucket as will render the weight of such bucket and water equal to that of the load to be elevated, it'bein g lborne in mind that any excess of weight ot' a descending load over that of an ascending one is an advantage, as it raises a proportionate weight of water to the upper `eistern, a.

Should it happen descending loads shou time, exceed that ofthe ascending loads, and the supply of water in the upper cisterns fall short, sufficient power. must be. applied to the elevator-carriage to raise the necessary quantity of Water. i

In a private house, should this scarcity of water-occur, one of the inmates may walk to one of the upper stories, and, by returning upon the elevator-carriage, raise his weight of water to the upper cistern. t

It willthus be evident that by the use of .the valves i" and s and the admission to or escape of water from one or the other of either of the cisterns a or b, or the bucket d, the elevatorcarriage may at -all times be perfectly balanced, whether at either extreme of its journey, or at anyA intermediate point between the two, should its load be changed at such points. t K

V- I have contemplated employing two -car- -riages, one to balance the other, each being combined with a-receptacle for water; or, in place of this weight of water, the operator may remain upon one of them.

It will be apparent to good mechanics that a variety of devices .may be applied to the elevator as a driving-power. For instance, an upright rack may be applied upon one' or both .'ofthe posts of the'elevator-frame, and a pinion may be mounted upon a shaft supported within or upon the carriage, to take into su,chl rack, and provided with a crank or other means of rotating it. Thismechanism `for driving the carriage may be on top or at the bottom of the carriage, as practice shall'determine to be best.

A driving-power is' shown i nying drawings rope or chain, a', vor pulleys, b 0

ld, for any length of n the accomp'a as consisting of an 'endless traveling about two sheaves ,`situated, one, b', at the upper vthe sheaves h h, before mentioned and the other, o', the' elevator-carriage,

as represented, one side of the said rope or chain passing through the center of the said platform. Furthermore,

of t-he load to be raised brought down by the dethat the weights of the story of the buildin g, and about on a level with' disposed below the plat orm d' of i upon the center of the platform, and surrounding the rope a', I erect a standard or frame, e', and pivot within such frame two anti-friction rollers, f g', these rollers being placed in alignment with each other in the direction of their path of revolution, and embracing the rope tightly between them. These rollers may be provided with a periphery of elastic material, in order to eifect a firm hold of the rope. By means of the outer half of the rope a', the attendant may raise or lower the elevator-carriage attpleasure, whether he is standing upon the iloor of the structure or upon such carriage. Should it be upon the carriage, however, a much easier way to effect its elevation or ldepression would be by means of a crank applied to the shaft of one of the rollers j7 g', the rope in this case serving as a way or guide, by mounting which the rollers elevate the earriage. To maintain the rope in a rigid or immovable position for this purpose, its revolution should be stopped by a brake or other means applied to one or the other ofthe sheaves b c. The moderate height of the bucket nay, as before observed, be charged by allowing water to fall from the uppercistern to it, and discharged by permitting the water to flow from it to the lower tank, or to the bottom of the well c, should the two be combined in one structure, as would be the case in practice. If found necessar however, a cistern or tank may be placed in cach story of the building in which the elevatoris situated.

I have hereinbefore remarked that the attendant of the elevator may, by several trials of the valve, ascertain whether the carriage and bucket are equipoised. I have in mind, however, to apply a hand or dial to both the elevator-carriage 4and the bucket, to denote the exact weight of each. When the two agree the equilibrium isestablished and noted.

All these details, however, in no way aeet I the character of my invention,.since I do not A intend to confine myself to any details of carrying out what l believe to be' the 'main condition of my invention, which is Athe employ-A ment of a liquid element for the purpose of 4balancing the carriage and the load of an elevator.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

Claims.

1. The combination, with' the .elevator-carriage and devices for raising or lowering the same, of mean s, substantially such as described, for effecting the equipoise of said carriage and its load during its ascent or descent, as and for the purposes set forth.

2. As a device for effecting by means of water the balancing or eqnipoise ofthe elevator-carriage, the combination of the tanks a and b and the bucket d, the said tank a heilig provided with the valve r, and the bucket d with the valve s, and the tank a and bucket b being combined with the elevator-carriage by means of the ropes r/ g and sheaves h hf, or the mechanical equivalents for such ropes and sheaves, and the whole operating as cxplained. l

3. The combination of the elevator-carriage with the countorbalancing-bucket and two or more cisterns, arranged to operate in connection with said bucket, substantially as shown and described.

4. In combination with the elevator-carriage andthe valves of the tank a and bucket d, the arrangement of the cords or chains t and u, for the purpose herein explained.

5. Passing the cord t, which actuates the valve s, through the platform of the elevatorcarriage, as explained.

6. lhe arrangement of the endless rope, or its equivalent, and the sheaves 4b c' and the rollers f' g. or their mechanical substitutes, the lower shcave being provided with a suitable means of stopping its revolution when required.

7. Thecombination and arrangement of the tank a and the movable bucket d, whereby, by the overlapping or embracing ofthe former by the latter, water is elevated into such tank a, for the purpose set forth.

' CYRUS W.v BALDWIN. Witnesses: FRED. CURTIS,

EDWARD GRmFITH. 

